Chapter 3
After the storm-like family dinner had passed.
Shinhyuk’s family was the first to leave their seats.
Watching the empty seat where Shinhyuk’s father, In-gyun, had been sitting, the eldest son, In-seok, glared and asked Choi Cheol-ho.
“Father, are you really planning to accept In-gyun’s family back?”
“Why? Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
Cheol-ho replied casually while sipping his after-meal scorched-rice tea, and In-seok clenched his teeth.
“That fool In-gyun ignored your orders, brought back some woman from who-knows-where, and married her. If you bring someone like that back into the family fold, it’ll cause problems—”
“In-seok.”
“……Yes, Father.”
But the moment In-seok met Choi Cheol-ho’s half-lidded gaze—
He froze like a man facing a bear.
Patting his stiff shoulder lightly, Cheol-ho whispered quietly.
“Are you the father here?”
“……!”
“You manage your own children as you please. But I’ll handle mine. Whether to cast them out or bring them back—that’s my decision.”
“……Yes.”
With a single sentence, Cheol-ho completely suppressed him.
As he finished the rest of his tea, the second son, In-ho, put on a pleasant smile.
“Well now, if our nephew really gets placed into Silver tier, he’d be a top prospect… Naturally, we’d have to bring him into the Shinwha Guild, wouldn’t we?”
“That’s your business to handle. The Shinwha Guild is yours, after all.”
“Haha, Father, you’re too much. There’s nothing with the Shinwha name attached that doesn’t ultimately belong to you. Anyway, I’ll take that as permission. Of course… only if that ridiculous claim actually succeeds.”
Even though he clearly sensed the sharpness hidden behind In-ho’s easygoing smile, Cheol-ho said nothing.
“Oh my, then wouldn’t it be great for Shinwha Department Store to collaborate as well? ‘The shocking reversal of the nephew once called a worthless jack-of-all-trades!’ Something like that.”
With the eldest daughter Sun-hwa joining in to subtly mock Shinhyuk, the family gathering of December 30 came to an end.
After everyone had returned to their respective homes.
Cheol-ho, sitting alone in his study reading a book, suddenly spoke to empty air without looking up.
“What do you think?”
“……Shadows do not possess thoughts.”
“Right now, I’m asking. So you may answer.”
A reply came back from the empty space.
It was a technique only achievable by someone who had mastered the player ability of stealth to its absolute limit.
Cheol-ho, who kept such a person as his “shadow,” pressed once more.
After a brief silence, the shadow finally spoke.
“He seemed to have momentum.”
“Momentum, you say… In what way?”
“He was filled with certainty that his words would come true. That confidence carried undeniable force.”
Momentum.
The presence contained in Shinhyuk’s confident declaration was impressive enough that even the shadow had to acknowledge it.
“Then do you think that absurd claim will actually come true?”
“……But momentum and ability are separate matters. Unless everything he’s shown so far was an elaborate scheme just for the placement exam… honestly, I think it will be difficult.”
Acknowledgment and belief were different issues.
Especially when the opponent was Lee Juho, the eldest son of the Oseong Guild Master, backed by the full power of the Oseong Group.
A man whose natural talent alone had earned him a predicted tier of top-rank Silver.
Against someone like that, Shinhyuk’s chances were extremely low.
No—if being honest, it would be more accurate to say they were practically nonexistent.
However—
“Then shall we make a bet?”
“A bet… sir?”
“Yes. A bet. I’ll wager that the boy will keep his word.”
“……Do you really believe he can do it?”
“At least, that’s how it looks to me. Something about him has changed. Something fundamental.”
Cheol-ho was different.
Closing the book he had been reading, he smiled like a child who had just discovered a fascinating new toy.
Seeing that, the shadow sighed.
“Then I withdraw.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve never seen you make a wrong decision. I’m not foolish enough to take a bet I’m certain to lose.”
“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to teasing you.”
Chuckling, Cheol-ho stood up and gave an order.
“Contact the PR team. Tell them that on January 1st, during the placement exam, a new star will be born from Shinwha Group. Have them prepare in advance.”
“Yes, sir.”
And that was that.
In that moment, the value of Shinhyuk—who would soon be promoted by the full force of Shinwha Group—was decided.
At a house in Hannam-dong.
To be precise, inside Shinhyuk’s home, a commotion had broken out.
“Shinhyuk, just what were you thinking, saying something like that in front of Father?”
At the center of it was Shinhyuk’s father, In-gyun.
Still dizzy from the bomb his son had dropped, he held his forehead and staggered.
But Shinhyuk remained calm.
“Father.”
“……Father?”
“Please trust me just this once. I’ll show you the results.”
“……What in the world happened overnight? A boy who never once called me ‘Father’ before…”
Just like when he faced Choi Cheol-ho earlier, Shinhyuk pressed forward with unwavering confidence.
It felt like standing in front of an unshakable iron wall.
For some reason, In-gyun found himself unable to doubt him and collapsed onto the sofa.
“……Are you really confident?”
“Yes. And it would be even better if you could grant me one request.”
“A request… Alright. I’ll do it. A child who’s never asked for anything in his life is finally asking—I have to listen.”
“Thank you.”
“Shinhyuk.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I believe you. Not because of the reward you mentioned—but because I want to believe my son is truly that capable.”
“……Yes.”
His voice was stern, yet filled with warmth.
Shinhyuk, understanding that completely, answered with a slightly trembling voice. After explaining what he needed, he returned to his room.
“First, I need to check my condition.”
Knowing oneself is half the battle.
With that thought, he pulled out the estimated status report he had received—and froze.
“……My highest stat is Strength at only 14? Mana is just 9? Are these really the stats of a trainee about to take the placement exam? Especially from Shinwha High School?”
Player development high schools had systems that could roughly predict the status window players would see after awakening.
And Shinwha High School possessed the best equipment among them, so errors were virtually nonexistent.
Yet the results were shockingly terrible.
The average adult male had stats around 10.
But Shinhyuk—who had been training specifically to become a player—only had 14.
Worst of all, his Mana stat, the most important stat for players, was only 9.
Sighing, he looked at the traits section and let out a small laugh.
[1. Jack of All Trades]
“As expected… only one trait shows up.”
Jack of All Trades.
A trait that allowed him to do anything fairly well.
The very reason he had earned the nickname “Worthless Jack-of-All-Trades.”
He could do many things, but none exceptionally.
But Shinhyuk knew something others didn’t.
He had another hidden trait.
“The condition to unlock Late Bloomer was Platinum tier.”
Trait: Late Bloomer.
A hidden or sealed trait that remained unknown until certain conditions were met.
Once unlocked, it upgraded all previously acquired skills by at least one rank—sometimes several.
And future skills would grow faster as well.
If traits were the heart, skills were the organs.
And this trait enhanced them all.
Combined with Jack of All Trades, which allowed him to learn countless skills, the synergy had been incredible.
In his previous life, reaching Challenger from Platinum had taken less time than reaching Platinum itself.
“This time, I’ll awaken Late Bloomer perfectly.”
Unlike before, he wouldn’t rush.
He would gather as many skills as possible before unlocking it.
“Time to sleep.”
Exhausted from dealing with Choi Cheol-ho, Shinhyuk threw himself onto the bed.
December 31st.
One day before the placement exam.
Shinhyuk sat facing his father.
“As you asked, I got you low-grade stat enhancers and mana pills. Since the exam is close, they were hard to find and expensive… I’m sorry I couldn’t get better ones.”
“No, this is more than enough. Thank you, Father.”
On the table were items In-gyun had struggled to acquire.
Stat enhancers that raised physical stats.
Mana pills that increased mana.
Both low grade—but sufficient for beginners.
‘Each raises stats by 5… so my status should now be…’
After consuming them, Shinhyuk calculated.
[Status Window]
Name: Choi Shinhyuk
Class: None
Strength: 19
Stamina: 18
Intelligence: 18
Mana: 14
Traits:
-
Jack of All Trades
-
Late Bloomer <Sealed>
Skills: None
‘That should be about right.’
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
But he didn’t relax.
‘This only puts me at the starting line. Others from Shinwha High will have higher stats. Lee Juho might already be over 30. There’s no room for complacency.’
Still, it was a necessary first step.
“I’ll be heading out soon.”
“Your equipment?”
“Already prepared in my room.”
“Good. You can’t use an inventory yet.”
With everything ready, Shinhyuk returned to his room.
He equipped basic gear and strapped a sword to his waist.
And just as everything was set—
[You have Awakened!]
[Welcome to the Dimension Arena!]
[The Placement Exam will now begin!]
January 1st.
The day of awakening and the placement exam had arrived.
